Implant fixtures come in many different shapes and sizes. Each has a unique purpose for a specific patient need. Some are wide and short for the back areas of the lower jaw, and some are long and thin, for the lower front teeth, and then again, others are designed to offer better initial stabilization for very weak bone. Continuing research gives birth to new implant designs and concepts on almost a yearly basis. Today, there is a dental implant fixture available for almost every patient situation a dental professional will encounter.
There is a tremendous variety when it comes to implant fixture design
A Dental Implant, as most patients understand it, typically consists of three parts:
- The Implant Fixture
- The (Prosthetic) Abutment
- The Crown (Cap)
Here we will discuss the implant fixture first. The implant fixture is the part of the implant which gets inserted into the bone. It is a precision-crafted surgical device, made out of titanium or an alloy of titanium. The titanium alloys offer better tensile strength and thus better resistance to fracture at virtually no expense to the osseointegration potential. Most, if not all implant fixtures are therefore made out of titanium alloy today. The most common alloy is a proportional mix of titanium, aluminum and vanadium. This alloy is known as: TiAl6V4.
With so many choices of implant fixtures from over 50 different implant companies world wide, it is almost tempting to assume that science has reached the end of the road with respect to implant fixture design. The reality however is that every year new concepts and design directions are being developed. Currently, the trend goes towards bioactive coatings of the implant fixtures. Companies are trying feverishly to reliably coat fixture surfaces with growth factors, such as Bone Morphogeneic Proteins, so that bone integration can be accelerated and bone quality around the implant fixture can be greatly enhanced.
The Implant Fixture
